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Review Summary

In “12,” Nikita Mikhalkov’s grandiloquent remake of “12 Angry Men,” the elements of that modest courtroom classic have been enlarged to operatic dimensions. In this modern interpretation, directed by Mr. Mikhalkov, whose 1994 movie, “Burnt by the Sun,” won an Academy Award for best foreign-language film, the clashes among 12 Muscovites charged with determining the guilt or innocence of a young man accused of murder form a composite portrait of post-Soviet Russia. Although the remake has retained some plot elements of the 1957 Sidney Lumet movie, which originated as a 1954 teleplay written by Reginald Rose, it is essentially a different animal. In the screenplay, written by the director with Vladimir Moiseenko and Alexander Novototsky-Vlasov, the effort expended by a fractious jury to reach an agreement could be taken as a hopeful metaphor for the country’s struggle to achieve an elusive national unity. With a running time of 159 minutes, “12,” which was nominated this year for a foreign-language Academy Award, is extravagantly lengthy. But as it barrels along, it is consistently entertaining, if not always easy to read. — Stephen Holden